Bob Cooney

UPDATED: The Sixers have confirmed the trade. "We feel Sam's overall skill set can be a valuable asset to our team and he adds to our depth at two positions,” Sixers president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said in a statement.

From EARLIER:

With Evan Turner now in the starting lineup the backcourt reserves for 76ers coach Doug Collins became painfully small, with Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks manning most of the minutes.

So the Sixers decided to do something about that and acquired guard/forward Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies today, the Daily News has learned.

The Sixers have given up the rights to guard Ricky Sanchez, who was acquired in a 2007 trade with Denver. Sanchez was originally drafted in the second round by Portland in 2005. The Sixers acquired Sanchez’s rights from Denver, along with Reggie Evans, in exchange for Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones.

The NBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. today.

Young was the 36th overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Grizzlies after being named first-team all Big East his senior season at Pittsburgh when he posted a single-season school record of 609 points (19.1 a game).

The 6-6, 220-pounder will come off the bench for Collins and provide a defensive physical presence on the defensive end and a pretty good scoring touch offensively. Young has averaged 6.9 points in his three seasons with Memphis during his 17.5 minutes per game.

During the Grizzlies’ 13-game playoff run last season, Young started 11 of those games averaging 7.5 points in close to 20 minutes of action.

Young is in the final year of a 3-year deal that pays him $947,000 this season. He will be a restricted free agent.

The move adds yet another look for the Sixers, who have had a sort of facelift since the All-Star break. Turner started his fifth straight game in Wednesday’s 111-94 loss to the Indiana Pacers, a spot Collins said he will keep for the rest of the season. Starting center Spencer Hawes returned to the lineup on Wednesday after missing 27 of the previous 29 games due to an Achilles’ strain and now Young should find ample minutes in his reserve role.

Before Wednesday’s game, Collins talked of how his substituting rotation would change now that Hawes is back and Turner is starting. That will now be revamped again with the addition of Young.

The starters will remain the same with Jrue Holiday, Turner, Andre Iguodala, Hawes and Elton Brand. Thaddeus Young and Williams will mostly remain the first subs off the bench, with rookie Nikola Vucevic getting regular minutes subbing for Hawes. How exactly Young will be used probably will depend of defensive matchups, when Collins will need a tough defender to help his second unit.

Coming out of Pittsburgh, the scouting report on Young was that he was an adequate offensive player with an improved shot, though not very fluid at the offensive end. Due to his size, strength and expansive wing span, he was labeled as a potential lockdown defender.

This is the second deal the Sixers have made with Memphis this season. Back on Jan, 4, the Sixers traded forward Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies for a pair of second-round picks.